Spies of the Night
by Joybee
Summary: Male!Kahjit!Reader x Cicero, it runs along the Dark Brotherhood quest. It delves deeper within the relationship between the Listener and his Keeper. What will we uncover? And how will the rest of family react? Smut to come in later chapters as well as angst, comfort, romance, and any other flavor that fits within that pallet. Beginning is a bit slow, picks up in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Things had been pleasant here at the sanctuary since I joined. At least as pleasant as it can be for assassins. Everyone had been nice, or at least as decent as they could have been bothered too. So far the assignments had been varied, from taking out a few beggars to taking out a fully fledged vampire. Unfortunately I had to tangle with both the vampire and its fledgling. That damn woman hadn't left the vampires side in the week I spent stalking them. It was infuriating that a job had to be more messy than usual. After all the contract was to take out the vampire male, not his companion. Not that I minded the extra bloodshed, I was just pretty sure I'm wasn't going to get any extra coin.

The fact was I had finally finished this set of contracts, the trip back being long and tiring. The first thing I'm doing when I have enough coin is getting a horse. All the time wasted by traveling on foot is starting to take its toll. Targets don't often leave where the contract says they live. Still, I'd like the ability to rest my feet without stopping. My future plans were coming to a halt as the entrance to the sanctuary became visible. The door loomed out of the cliff side, the skull grinning down at me. It opened, grinding against the cobble flooring. and the wind whipped around me as I walked past.

I could hear the commotion before I could see it, a high pitched voice unknown to me stood out the most. My hackles rose and my ears pinned beneath my hood. Whoever this was I didn't know them, nor did I know what was going on with the other members. As I grew near words began to form out of the incoherent mumbling.

 **"But the Night Mother is mother to all! It is her voice we follow! Her will! Would you dare risk disobedience? And surely"** There was a slight pause in the high pitched speech, as if the person was questioning their own words. **"Punishment?"**

What about the Night Mother? What did this new person know? As far as I knew the only ones left of the Dark Brotherhood was everyone I had already met.

Arnbjorn's voice cut through the air. **"Keep talking, little man, and we'll see who gets "punished.""**

 **"Oh, be quiet you great lumbering lapdog. The man has had a long journey. You can at least be civil. Mister Cicero, I for one am delighted you and the Night Mother have arrived. Your presence here signals a welcome return to tradition."** That had to be Festus's voice, the old croak being the tell tale sign. It appeared as though this newcomer's name was Cicero. Someone who hadn't been here before, but knew about us and about our traditions.

 **"Oh, what a kind and wise wizard you are. Sure to earn our Lady's favor."** Bit of a suck up this Cicero. I rounded the corner, masked by a large pillar of stone. I could make out Babette as well as a large shipping crate as I peered out around the corner, but nothing else.

 **"You and the Night Mother are of course welcome here, Cicero. And you will be afforded the respect deserving of your position as Keeper. Understood husband?"** That was Astrid, and she seemed to know who this person is. My tail flicked, and Arnbjorn grumbled in agreement with his wife.

All of a sudden the person they've been calling Cicero started babbling. **"Oh, yes yes yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"**

Astrid was quick to cut in, **"But make no mistake. I am the leader of this Sanctuary. My word is law. Are we clear on that point?"** She was sharp as a blade, but I'm still not sure why she's allowing such a strange sounding person in the sanctuary.

 **"Oh yes, mistress. Perfectly! You're the boss."** I resisted the urge to make a face, Astrid was a leader. Her word I respected but she was not a mistress to me, she and Nazir gave me my contracts and I carried them out. I wasn't going to start babbling on about Sithis and act as a devote follower. I finally stepped out from behind the pillar, noticing the new character to our house of murder. He was a short man of a slim build, had fiery red hair and was dressed like a jester. It was a strange appearance even for a place like this.

Astrid caught my attention before I could speak to him, telling me exactly who he was. He was the Keeper of the Night Mother and would be staying here for the time being. So he wasn't a threat, and was actually one of us. That made more sense than some enemy winding their way into our midst. I looked over to him, eyes wandering over his appearance once more. I figured what the hell, I might as well make myself acquainted with the man. The jester turned around as I neared, his expression brightening when he saw me.

 **"Another member of the Family! Hello, hello. So very good to meet you."** His wording was strange alright. I smiled kindly to him, liking his polite greeting despite his erratic speech.

 **"It's a pleasure to meet you Cicero, welcome to the sanctuary."** My ears had pricked forward again, the hood I wore ruffling with the movement.

 **"So polite! So nice! Cicero likes you. The Night Mother is sure to like you too. Oh, we're going to be fast friends. Fast friends."** His speedy, erratic speech patterns had resumed. I couldn't help it, I started finding it quite endearing. It was a nice change of pace to the serious vibe of the rest of my family. They were kind and all, for assassins, but they still had the air of kill or be killed about them. It certainly felt as though they didn't mind the thought of slitting your throat open.

I stopped that happy train of thought right there, and instead I figured there had to be more to this man. **"So, who are you exactly Cicero?"**

 **"Me? Oh, Cicero is just the Keeper! I..."** Another pause, he seemed to be trying to find another word to describe what he does. **"Keep! I look after our matron, you see. The Night Mother. I keep her clean, and protected, and happy"** My eyes narrow as a look of dissatisfaction comes over his face. The expression is short lived and he brightens once more. **"But I am not the Listener. Oh no. There is no Listener. Not yet! But some day, some day, some day I pray, that one will come to hear her say"** He pauses for what seems to be dramatic effect. **"The words."**

Well, that was something. The man is strange, I'll give him that, but he still has an odd charm about him. Again, maybe its nothing more than a simple change of attitude that I've been craving. Or I've gone mad as well, although I'd like to think its the first one.


	2. Chapter 2

I shuffled a bit in my laying position, my eyes opening after a long nights rest. The world coming into focus, how long had I been asleep for? It felt like I'd been asleep for a day at the very least. The events of yesterday having taken a toll on me. I sat up, the bed creaking underneath me. My paws swung over the edge of the bed and I stood up, stretching my limbs out and working the kinks out of my muscles. I rolled my right shoulder, recalling the night before. The jester was a strange character to our band of misfits. His words were always joking and spoken in an erratic pattern. He seemed to always be in a hyper mood, as if he didn't have an end to his energy. In reality he hadn't been bad company, unlike what many others in the sanctuary thought. He was a just little eccentric, nothing to terrible.

I looked about the room, ears flicking in irritation. Where the hell did I put my clothes? I didn't want to walk around in nothing but my undergarments. I mean I had a nice figure, but it was cold and my paw pads were not happy about being on freezing cobbled floors. Even when paired with my fur, the light cotton shirt and pants I wore did not keep in much heat. My brows furrowed and in the dim candle light I could make out my clothes. They were folded neatly on a dresser across the room.

Had I put them there? I couldn't remember, last night was a bit of a blur. It had been late when I had gotten back to the sanctuary, twilight having given way to the inky night sky. That was a few minutes before I met our newest member. It had to have been early morning by the time I had fallen asleep, what I could remember being a blur of conversations.

I shrugged it off, Festus had a horrible habit of messing with people's belongings. He'd rant about how everything would come crumbling down because a sock was out of place. You would think he cleaned like it was a religion. I have seen his alchemy station though, and I'm surprised it hasn't blown the sanctuary sky high with how messy it is. Granted, I'm starting to think he has a habit of mistaking people with items and belongings.

I slipped on my armor, the leather wrapping around me like a second skin. It gave me a sense comfort, the leather offering protection from the world. I didn't feel so vulnerable, so exposed. Being a killer came with a territory, and being without armor for any extended period of time always put me on edge. It did have its downsides, I couldn't remember the last time I relied on my own two feet for stealth. My boots completely muffled my steps, as was their intention. The issue was that I never went anywhere without them.

My stomach growled and I grumbled, it was time to go down and see if I could scrounge up a meal. No one could really go hungry in this place, food was always stored in the dining room. The only downside was that none of it was an actual meal. All that was there were ingredients that you had to cook yourself.

I made my way down to the dining hall that doubled as a kitchen, my footsteps light as a feather. It was colder than normal, I could almost see my breath. My tail was already starting to get a little chilled, when did the heat disappear? I let out a breath, winter had to be rolling in soon. I grew closer to the dining hall, the air got warmer from the fires that roared near the cooking pots. My tail wrapped around my legs, and my arms crossed. I was trying to conserve as much body heat as I could.

Nazir was sitting at one of the tables, enjoying what looked like a stew of some sort. He looked up to me and gave a little chuckle. It seemed that Redguard clothing was far warmer than it appeared.

"What's gotten you so worked up?" He asked with nothing more than a smile on his face.

"It's colder than the void in here," I frowned at him. "What? "Did you think I was all curled up for laughs?" My lip curled upwards in a snarl, and my patience running on empty. I was cold, hungry, and not in the mood for conversation. My stomach let out a growl, the organ deciding to ache and draw my attention away from Nazir. Yet his voice followed me, breaking through the silence like a brick against a window.

"The temperature hasn't changed, have you gone a bit mad recruit?"

I ignored him, he was trying to mess with me now. It was colder than normal, there was no way to fake that.

I yanked a barrel open and pulled out a few potatoes and leeks. Might as well throw those in with some horker meat and call it a meal. I started to peel the roots with my knife when something orange caught my eye. There were carrots on the top shelf, perfect to add to my stew of irritation. The sound of the knife hitting wood calmed me somewhat. Although the cutting board was more than likely not enjoying the abuse. I tossed in the carrots and leeks, having diced them up as nicely as I could be bothered to. Hunks of peeled potato and horker meat followed after.

I threw another log onto the fire, sparks flying up to greet the air. The flames grew higher and heat radiated from them like a warm embrace. My nose and ears started to tingle and the cold ebbed away. Finally I was starting to get warm and the soup was coming to a light boil. Had the jester eaten yet? Wait, where was our colorful guest?

"Nazir, where's the jester?" I turned to look at him, the irritation from before having dissipated a bit now that I was warm.

"Haven't seen him since last night, he hasn't come down from the Night Mothers chambers." He paused for a minute, and a small frown crossed his face. "Other than to create the preserving oils for her that is."

He probably hadn't eaten yet either. He seemed like the type of person to be married to his duties. I grabbed two bowls and spoons figuring he'd need some food at some point.

"You're not seriously going to be bringing food to that maniac are you?" I looked back to Nazir, my brow raised.

"And why wouldn't I? He's apart of this sanctuary now, isn't he?" I narrowed my eyes at him, my voice holding an edge to it. What was his deal? I knew he wasn't a fan of jesters but that didn't mean we ignored our newest members.

Nazir didn't respond to that and instead he only shook his head at me. My throat vibrated with the low growl that escaped my lips. We sat there in a stiff silence, the only noises being that of the low bubbling of the stew I was cooking. When it was done I ladled it into two bowls, leaving the extra's behind to whoever wanted it. I left Nazir and made my way up to the Night Mother's chambers, figuring it would be the best place to start looking for the jester.


End file.
